We have been on a number of RCI ships and this was our second time on the Freedom. We flew from the Midwest and stayed overnight at the Orlando Airport Renaissance Hotel, got a rental car at a very cheap weekend rate, drove to the port and dropped the car. The rental agency dropped us at the Freedom. It was a very simple procedure and we didn't have to wait on a bus etc. Five minutes after we dropped the car we were on our way to the ship and ready to start the embarkation process. That too was relatively simple aided by our status with RCI and in no time we were in the Windjammer having lunch. As in the prior cruise with Freedom we selected a D1 stateroom on the "hump" so that we could see both ways "our personal preference". We knew what to expect in the stateroom and were not disappointed. It seemed like the only difference between the prior cruise was the time that it took for our luggage to get to our stateroom. On the prior cruise it arrived early afternoon, this time we could not finish unpacking until after the mandatory assembly drill. It was raining at the port and some of our luggage got wet as well.

The Freedom is such a great family ship and we saw multi generation families everywhere. It is just a great ship for young to old, something to do for everyone except that I would point out that we made friends with a family with children 18-20 and they felt that for that age group they were excluded from some adult activities and excluded from younger activities also.We were in both of the specialty restaurants and loved both of them. Chops is absolutely FABULOUS and Portofino is lovely also. We were on my time dining and liked it except for the fact that because we were just two we were initially placed in a table configuration that had us in the middle between two other couples. I was requested a change and it was accommodated.

We used the health club and loved it, utilized spa services, the ice show was great and should not be missed. The late night Rock Britannia MUST NOT BE MISSED. All of the entertainment was great. We also loved the music trivia in the Schooner bar. Read more